The Oilers entered opening night excited for their additions on offence and confident in their goaltending, then got shutout and blown away by the Winnipeg Jets.
Winnipeg had a two goal lead entering the second period, then quickly added three more to put the game out of reach. Skinner was beat multiple times on clean shots and being caught out of position, and was pulled from the game 10 minutes into the second period. He allowed 5 goals on only 13 shots, and after the game, Skinner admitted that his play cost the team.
"It's very frustrating to start like this. I feel terrible about what happened tonight. It sucks, you just don't want to believe that you're going to have a crappy start again.
It's just not ideal, don't feel great.The game was a little too quick for me. I just wasn't up to speed, and that's on me."
- Stuart Skinner
While it was a massive letdown for opening night, the only positive is that Skinner's play can only improve from here. At his best, Skinner has been called upon for clutch playoff performances and battled against the best goalies in the NHL, but he can have stretches where he simply seems to lose his game. Allowing the second goal to Winnipeg in the final moments of the first is a backbreaking goal, and it was outside wrist shot from Mason Appleton. It's a goal that can't happen.
Upon the real collapse in the second period, it just seemed that the Oilers - known for their ability to come back - didn't have a chance of making the game competitive. They got some good looks and Hellebuyck made some great saves, but it clearly wasn't the prime Oilers.
However, Skinner's also proven that he has the ability to bounce back when he gets into these tough stretches. He was given a heavy workload of 59 starts last season and posted a decent .905 save percentage. If he can maintain anything close to that this season, he'll once again be a fine starter for a cup contending Oilers team. Just this week, the Oilers were ranked as the top goaltending team in the pacific division.
The Oilers have a few days off until their next game on Saturday Night against the Chicago Blackhawks. Even after a rough opening night with a brutal .615 save percentage, Coach Knoblauch should give Skinner the start and an opportunity to bounce back.
